The Show Goes On at Tahiti Pearl Regatta

By Andy Turpin | May 19, 2021 | Taha'a, French Polynesia |

Wherever you travel in the realm of sailing you’re apt to notice certain universal themes. Such as: With a sweet breeze and a good-natured crew, you can have as much fun sailing on a decades-old boat with well-worn sails and a few dings in her hull as you can aboard a brand-new boat that’s just been unwrapped.

We were reminded of this truism at the annual Tahiti Pearl Regatta (May 13-18), where a disparate fleet of monohulls, multihulls and traditionally inspired double-outrigger canoes raced between Taha’a and Raiatea in French Polynesia’s Leeward Islands.

Two guys on a Hobie Cat — This vintage Hobie Cat was certainly not the sexiest cat in the fleet, but these guys had great fun putting her through her paces.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Andy

In a normal year, the TPR is the Central South Pacific’s largest and most international sailing contest. It typically attracts dozens of foreign sailors from Europe, the US, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and/or elsewhere to race across turquoise lagoons aboard chartered bareboats, or find crew spots holding down the rails of local racing machines.